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44 of 48 persons found the following review helpful.
No Secret — Great Book
By Ashley Adams
Have you seen all of the poker books at any big bookstore? Five years ago there were three. Now there are almost 80. Can any new book genuinely add anything to the voluminous poker creative writing of recognized artisti value that fills the shelves?
The answer is an enthusiastic YES!
Secrets The Pros Won’t Tell You About Winning Holdem Poker is a welcome addition to the short list of genuinely magnificent poker books available. Novices, intermediate, and progressed players will surely net profit from the a good deal of nuggets of clear or deep perception staged by Krieger and Bykofsky.
The writers presume a basic psychological result of perception learning and reasoning of the game of Texas Holdem.
It is not a telling of poker stories, as so numerous books are these days. This is no glamorous look at the rich and famous of the poker world. Thank goodness for that.
But Krieger and Bykofsky provide us with dozens of nuggets of utile and unfathomed insights. The best part of the book is the beginning and longest chapter entitled “Basic Concepts and Play.” In it the writers present and explore dozens of ideas such as: what makes a good poker game (for the player), how to get a read on your opponent’s hand, where to sit to increase your profit, how to play versus maniacs, weak players, or good players; how to use your effigy to your advantage, why and when you ought to bet on the River, how to read opponents’ betting patterns, and the divergence amongst value betting and bluffing.
Each of these conceptions alone is worthy of an entire book. They are staged distinctly and concisely — sufficient for the typical reader to grasp their importance, grasp them, and then implement them to his game. In that sense the activity of formally presenting something is masterful and effective — so much power in so little space.
Chapter Five, entitled “Money,” addresses commonly asked questions with regards to bankroll requirements, cash management, and simple ways to denigrate your losses while maximizing your wins. Chapter Seven is an excellent, if brief, exploration of winning tactics for online play. Especially utile was an comprehensible statement of how to best use the notetaking features available only to online players. There is a rather lengthy chapter on the minimal math of poker and a few brief ending chapters on tournament play.
The book is not without it is flaws. Most significantly, the reader needs to be conscious that even though the book is staged as if it were covering both limit and no limit holdem, it chiefly addresses limit strategy. No limit and pot limit system are very dissimilar from limit. The writers distinctly recognize this and point it out from time to time. But when there is no mention of the game being no limit, it’s important that the reader — in particular the young or new-to-poker reader who has only played no limit — recognize that Krieger and Bykofsky are talking in regards to limit holdem strategy.
This is particularly primary in the divisions that talk in regards to bluffing, betting on the river, and raising. Although they are spot on when talking regarding how to play limit holdem, viewed through the lens of no limit poker, these subdivisions would be highly inadequate for failing to address the dissimilar system that results when taking into account both the size of a bet and relative stack sizes. For example, the authors’ magnificent counsel of in general calling on the River in a limit holdem game (because of the splendid pot odds that are in general being offered by the time of the final betting round) is unquestionably unsound counsel if the game is no limit and your contestant makes a pot-sized bet at the end.
There are other little errors that do not detract from the rudimentary soundness of the book. There is a lot of redundancy amid the chapters (implied odds are explained well in one section and not-so-well elsewhere). And altho the two math tables are in general very helpful and clear, I did not grasp the statement at the bottom of one table: “Two unmatched cards will make a split pair 2.2 percent of the time.”
These little detractions not withstanding, the book is a powerful tool for any player looking to learn the basic conceptions for winning play and for each player who wants an edge over his opponent.
The true test of the usefulness of a poker book is how it will add to the reader’s bottom line. There’s no question but that Secrets will support the beginning, intermediate, and innovative player make more cash (and for the most careful reader, much more money) at the poker table.
19 of 22 persons found the following review helpful.
Where are the secrets?
By M. Pfeiffer
I have to agree with one of the former reviews. This book has the most misleading title I have ever seen. There is not one “secret” or subject on poker in the whole book which is not already in any of the other well known poker books.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
Buy something else
By Cp Reeves
This book’s title has to be the most misleading book title I have ever encountered. “Secrets the masters won’t tell you in regards to winning hold’em poker” doesn’t integrate any perceptivenesses that are not contained in dozens of other poker books. It is not a bad book, it just doesn’t add much to the world of poker literature.
If you want to read an authorative book when it comes to poker try Doyle Brunson’s Super Sytem for a lot of in truth elaborate advice. Super System has the vantage of being written and endorsed by somebody who is distinctly one of the best players in the world… which can’t be said for either of the writers of this very intermediate book. (Also undertake Barry Greenstein’s Ace on the River, another very interesting book by written by an individual who has in truth achieved outstanding success as a player)
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